THE real issue may not be simply the unlikely 100 jobs at the Marriott, but whether some may have over- reacted. By not addressing legitimate concerns more calmly and rationally in this instant, we may affect other investments that may have provided better opportunities for jobs and skill transfers.

The government in trying to build a hotel quickly and reduce cost did not provide for any specific Guyanese workforce on the site.  This was left to the contractor’s discretion, who not surprisingly used Chinese workers who work under some conditions such as work hours, overtime and other factors less desirable than what our local labour force would agree with.  We need to be in a better position to train and offer skilled workers as part of any building project.

Three things should be borne in mind: one, that the jobs that may have been made available to Guyanese onsite ranged from one to surely less than 100, depending on skill levels and the need to complete the job at the price and time expected.
Two, the belief of Guyanese getting hundreds of jobs may have been poorly stated and misinterpreted to include both building and staffing the hotel.
Three, the number of local companies and workers involved in sub-contracts may have exceeded the possible jobs lost onsite.
Finally, any idea of stopping this project for possibly a few onsite jobs or as a test case politically or for possible skill transfers at this time is at least counter productive if not damaging to our economy.